Jharkhand money laundering case: ED arrests 7 after raids against IAS officer, others

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested seven people, including a government officer, after it conducted raids in Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged land grab case, official sources said on Friday (April 14).

Those taken into custody have been identified as Afshar Ali, Imtiaz Ahmed, Pradeep Bagchi, Md Saddam Hussain, Talha Khan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and Faiyaz Khan.

Prasad has been identified as a state government officer.

The seven have been arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

Alleged land grab, including defence land

The raids were launched on Thursday (April 13) at 22 places in the three states, including at the premises of 2011-batch Jharkhand cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan, who served as a deputy commissioner in the state capital Ranchi earlier.

ED raid underway against IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, at multiple locations in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand in connection with a land scam case.

(Visuals from his residence in Ranchi, Jharkhand) pic.twitter.com/7bWlrsqEoZ

— ANI (@ANI) April 13, 2023

Also read: Enforcement Directorate raids up 26 times since 2014: Govt data

The action was taken under the provisions of the anti-money laundering law and the agency is looking at a clutch of alleged land grab cases, including defence land.

BJP leader Babulal Marandi had on Thursday (April 13) issued a statement and sought to know what action Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren would take after the latest action of the ED.

(With inputs from agencies)